Celebrating Swords Fencers, 2017-18

National and International End of Year Recap

Swords fencers won a total of 23 national medals in 2017-18, taking home medals at every single North American Cup (NAC) and Junior Olympics,  Irene brought home the Silver USA  team medal from Austria!  Swords coach Tigran Shaginian received the Coach's Medal at the Junior Olympics.
Gold - 7
​Silver - 5
Bronze - 4
5th Place - 3
6th Place - 2
7th Place - 1
8th Place - 1

Jim Beihold
Summer Nationals and July Challenge
Vet 60 - 5th

Stephen Ewart
Junior World Team Member - National Ranking - #2 in the US
Competed in Junior Men's Epee World Cups in Greece, Italy
Competed in Senior Men's Epee World Cup in Germany

October NAC
Div 1 - Gold
November NAC
Juniors - Gold
January NAC
Juniors - Bronze
Junior Olympics
Juniors - Gold (Tigran awarded Coach's Medal)
April NAC
Div 1 - Silver
Summer Nationals and July Challenge
Juniors - Gold

Zoe Kim
March NAC
Y10 - Silver
Summer Nationals and July Challenge
Y10 - SIlver
1st in Region - Y10

Aidan Kung
December NAC
Div 1 Classification - 7th

Ryan Lee
October NAC
Div 2 - Bronze
March NAC
Y14 Team - Bronze

Melody Lo
October NAC
Div 2 - Silver

Stafford Moosekian
Competed in Cadet World Cup in Austria

November NAC
Y14 - 6th
March NAC
Y14 Team - Gold
Y14 - 5th
Summer Nationals and July Challenge
Juniors - 8th
Cadet - 5th
Y14 - Silver
1st in Region Y14

Mia Wu
March NAC
Div 2 - Gold
Div 3 - Bronze
April NAC
Div 2 - Gold
3rd in Region - Y14

Irene Yeu
Competed in Cadet World Cup in Austria, ,Finland, Poland (Placed 9th)
Austria - USA Team - Silver
Junior Olympics
Cadet - 6th

Additional Achievements:
Throughout the season, Swords fencers of all ages and levels earned regional and local medals, reached personal goals, learned valuable lessons, and celebrated a lot of "firsts"!  We want to recognize and congratulate all of our fencers for their tenacity, determination, and hard work.  It pays off in so many ways.  Here are a few examples (and thank you parents and fencers for sharing!):

Emily Beihold, 18 years old, fencing 10 years
​At the Western Fencing Conference Championships on Jan. 14, 2018 (her very first NCAA competition), Emily went 8-0 for the day against the other WFC fencers, leading the UCSD women’s team to claim the Conference title.

Emily qualified for and competed in the NCAA Championships, which were held at Penn State on March 22-25. She finished 20th, winning a third of her bouts, including victories over silver medalist Veronika Zuikova of St. John’s, and bronze medalist Amanda Sirico of Notre Dame. (Sirico is the current National Champion and a member of the US team that just won the World Championships.)

On May 20, Emily was named “UCSD Fencing Team 2017-2018 Rookie of the Year.”

Joshua Ferriere, 11 years old, fencing for 1 year
Won his first Gold medal at the RYC in Denver, CO.
Goal next season?
​He hopes to earn a medal in Y12 and qualify to compete in Summer Nationals.

Natalie Leung, 13 years old, fencing for 1 year
Goals Accomplished: When I started to fence, my first goal was to qualify for Y12 and Y14 Women’s Epee at Summer NACS through regional points, which I achieved. (medals listed below)
Torrey Challenge RYC  Y12- Silver
Treasure Chest RYC Y12 - Gold
The Fencing Center RYC,Y12 - 5th
The Fencing Center RYC, Y14 - Bronze
My next goal that I achieved was receiving national rankings in Y12 and Y14 through National Points, which I achieved. (medals listed below)
2018 Rain City Super Youth Circuit Y12 - 8th
Escondido SYC Y12- 6th
I went to my first Summer Nationals and made it to Top 32 in Y12 after a year of fencing experience.
Goal next season?
For next season, I aim to qualify for JO’s and get a higher national ranking in Y14.

Lexiss Morgan, 17 years old, fencing 3 years
In Div 2 Nationals, Lexiss Morgan faced a fencer who was much taller and heavier.  The opponent overpowered Lexiss, almost pushing her off the strip with full force while scoring points. Lexiss was down 1-5 after the 1st period.  She seemed startled and unsure about how to deal with her opponent.  In the 2nd period, Lexiss scored only one touch against her opponent.  With her coach strip-side, constantly encouraging her to score “one touch at a time,”  Lexiss started fighting back, incredibly agile, focused, with great point control, quickly adding 11 touches while her opponent scored only 4.  In the third period the score went from 2-10 to 13-14. Unfortunately, the bout ended with a heartbreaking double touch, and she lost 14-15. This bout was by far, the best fought one by Lexiss without giving up, and was one of the most valuable discoveries of what she is capable of doing in such difficult situations.  She lost a bout, but she was never defeated. I could not be more proud of my daughter, Lexiss. - By Chae, Lexiss’s Mom

Jackson Norbutas, 14 years old, fencing 4 years
San Diego SYC - Gold
Qualified and fenced in the Junior Olympics
Started the season as an unrated fencer, ended the season by earning his B18.
Goal next season? 
This coming year he hopes to win his first medal at a National event!

Tallulah Nguyen, 11 years old, fencing just over 1 year
Competed in her first Summer Nationals
Rain City SYC - Bronze  - Personal Best
Goal next season?
​She hopes to qualify to compete in Summer Nationals.